The People of Uzbekistan, Education

Education is compulsory in Uzbekistan until the ninth grade. Nearly the entire adult population can read and write. Illiteracy was high before the Soviet period but was virtually eliminated by 1970 as a result of the Soviet Unionís emphasis on free and universal education. Uzbekistanís education system continues to follow the Soviet model in most respects, although some changes have been introduced since independence, such as a greater emphasis on Uzbek history and literature. So far the government has been unable to meet the Soviet level of funding for schools. Teachers are generally poorly paid, and new textbooks are in short supply.

Institutes of higher education include Toshkent State University (founded in 1920), Samarqand State University (1933), and Nukus State University (1979), all named after the cities of their location.